CHAPTER 63: CHAPTER 63: TIME IS RUNNING OUT

"No, you get up first."

"I won’t. If you don’t let me be the big brother, I won’t get up."

"What do you think you’re doing? Get up first if there’s something to discuss."

"No!! I just want to be your little brother!!!"

Xiong Laile’s tone was extremely firm.

Su Tu had never seen someone insisting on being his little brother in such an abstract way.

"Regardless of whether I recognize you as my little brother in the future, if you keep lying down, I definitely won’t recognize you."

With Su Tu’s words, Xiong Laile immediately jumped up from the ground.

"Got it, boss!"

Su Tu thought about correcting how he was addressed, but remembering the other party’s previous abstract behavior, he decided against it.

Luo Fan and the others giggled as they walked onto the stage.

With a teasing look, they eyed Su Tu, while Xiong Laile appeared a bit nervous.

"You know, you’re not bad. Why pretend to be that earlier..." Baru organized his words.

"Like a dumbass." Fat Zhuge filled in the rest for him.

They could all see that Xiong Laile had a pleasant personality; the earlier provocative words didn’t seem like something he’d naturally say.

Those provocative words from before sounded like he was memorizing lines from a script.

Xiong Laile calmly faced everyone.

He then explained the situation with his naturally endowed bone appearance.

Though Xiong Laile was born with a bone appearance, the cost was that his mental development halted at three years old for five years before continuing, making him seem immature.

For the Hundred Victories Bone to reach its full potential, opponents needed to fight him with anger in their hearts and then be defeated by him.

As a result, people with Hundred Victories Bone often had arrogant personalities, flaunting themselves around and picking fights, but Xiong Laile wasn’t naturally that way. He was somewhat soft, a little shy, and with late mental development, his Hundred Victories Bone never really had any significant use.

So, he tried to imitate the speech of those arrogant people, resulting in his current state.

"Your personality really doesn’t suit the Hundred Victories Bone." Luo Fan was well aware of how annoying possessors of the Hundred Victories Bone could be.

That bunch was like street hooligans in Star River, causing trouble everywhere to enhance themselves.

"Yeah, yeah, so I decided to cling tightly to the boss’s thigh, that way I won’t suffer as much in the training camp." Xiong Laile felt more at ease with everyone and was less nervous.

The training camp he mentioned caught everyone’s attention.

"What is this training camp you’re talking about?" Su Tu voiced the group’s curiosity.

"It’s a drill for all martial arts exam candidates before the exam. They say there’s a death quota; it’s really scary!"

"Our martial arts schools, being guardian schools, must participate!"

Xiong Laile explained to the group.

"But they say the rewards for the training camp are great. The top three martial artists can obtain a Tier Six Technique."

"Tier Six Technique!"

Upon hearing this, everyone was greatly shocked.

To give context, a Tier Six Technique is the foundational standing of a Dao Field, able to become the lifeblood inheritance of a small Dao Field. Even top-level Dao Fields regard Tier Six Techniques as secrets, only accessible to direct disciples.

Luo Fan hails from a military martial arts family, and their hereditary technique is only a Tier Five Technique, showing the preciousness of Tier Six Techniques.

"The Martial Arts Department is really going all out!"

"I’ve only seen Tier Six Techniques online!"

"Damn, I can’t even imagine how powerful Tier Six Techniques are!"

Luo Fan, Tang Yangwu, and others were stunned by this news.

"Is this information accurate?" Su Tu calmly inquired.

Xiong Laile responded truthfully: "It’s just a document for now."

Upon hearing it’s still just a document, everyone’s interest halved, as anything might change before it’s finalized.

Xiong Laile understood their thoughts, but his thinking was much simpler. He sensed an indescribable aura around Su Tu when he slapped down earlier.

He saw a vast and boundless moon oppressing, like divine might.

He wasn’t crying because Su Tu hit him, he was crying out of fear.

Thus, he decided to recognize Su Tu as his boss, so if the training camp happened, he would have someone to rely on, and even if not, having such a strong boss was still advantageous.

"What other conditions are there to participate in this training camp?" Su Tu had a gut feeling that the training camp would happen.

This was his intuition, which had become increasingly accurate since Spiritual Wisdom improved.

"If it really takes place, anyone with a Martial Artist Certificate who meets the exam requirements can participate."

Xiong Laile said.

"Martial Artist Certificate." Upon hearing this term, Su Tu paused.

Martial artists need to apply for certification from the Martial Arts Department to receive monthly subsidies from the Federation.

He’d been busy cultivating for the past half month and hadn’t visited the Martial Arts Department.

If Xiong Laile hadn’t mentioned it, he might’ve forgotten.

"I remember the Martial Arts Department closes at seven. I’ll go get my certificate done later."

Su Tu thought so, partly for the conveniences the Martial Artist Certificate provides, and also because a monthly stipend of ten thousand shouldn’t be wasted!

Although cultivation resources before the exam were all covered by Li Hu, it’s still different from having money in hand himself.

Once familiar with everyone, Xiong Laile, who had impressive talent but an immature mind, became a fun target for everyone to joke with.

In the middle, he persistently called Su Tu "boss," and Su Tu didn’t bother correcting him.

After some playfulness, Su Tu began studying the new technique he acquired.

Opening the terminal, bits of information appeared before him.

Void Jump, a Tier Three Body Technique. This body technique increases a martial artist’s speed by thirty percent and can create illusions to confuse enemies. If the cultivation technique reaches great success, one could freely shift forms within the illusions, leaping into the void!

Su Tu started learning according to the cultivation technique’s description.

He put it into practice quickly, feeling his speed indeed increase and was able to generate two residual shadows, but he couldn’t yet shift within the phantom.

He reckoned he’d need to reach minor success to perform the Phantom Shift.

"This student of yours is excellent, just being a student is a waste, aren’t you going to take him as a disciple?" Xiong Yingtian marveled while watching Su Tu’s progress from high above.

No one knew better than him how challenging it was to cultivate Void Jump. Initially, he thought even a genius like Su Tu would take ten days to half a month to grasp entry level.

Yet in such a short time, this kid even mastered the residual shadow technique!

What kind of monstrous talent is this?

If it were him, he would take him as a direct disciple and fully nurture him, ensuring his Dao Field flourished, yet Old Zhou only took him as a mere student—it was unbelievable.

"The causal burdens I bear are too great; he’s a good kid and should not be entangled with these. His vast world awaits him." Zhou Wuliang, seated in the chair, watched Su Tu cultivate, speaking calmly yet proudly.

Sure enough, his lucky number was seven; the seventh student he accepted was such a celestial prodigy. If he had any strength left, he would surely help him ascend the Celestial Pride List, gaining the other shore’s heart and spirit support.

Hearing this, Xiong Yingtian wanted to say something.

But Zhou Wuliang leaned against the master’s chair, and, perhaps illusory, his body seemed thinner than before.

His fingers lightly tapped the table.

Thud, thud, thud...

This time, after six taps, as if bound by some inexplicable rule, he couldn’t tap further.

"See, time is running out," he softly spoke, mortality like the dead silence of the deep sea submerged the entire room.